Monday, 30 March 2015

Hey friends! Today is the first post in a new weekly series I am starting called "Math Book Monday". It's hard to share pictures and ideas since I'm not in the classroom right now, so I thought I needed something to keep me going until I get back into the classroom in September!

If you know anything about me, I have a love for all things books. I can't walk past a book store without going in. I have a huge collection of math related picture books and am looking forward to sharing some of my favourites with you. So make sure you come by each Monday where I will share with you a math picture book and a fun idea to go with it! :)

Today I'm going to show you a fun Easter book! It's called "10 Easter Egg Hunters" by Janet Shulman. It's a cute little counting, rhyming book about ten lost eggs! I love that each time they find an egg, it shows the number of eggs on the side like a little ten frame. Great for a little subitizing practice!

I thought this book would be a perfect mini-lesson book to get into practicing tens partners. In this simple activity, each student needs a picture mat, a recording sheet & pencil, and 10 Easter counters (toy bunnies, mini-erasers, or unifix cubes). Students drop the 10 counters onto the picture. Then they count how many counters land ON the picture and how many land OFF the picture. Then they create a number sentence on their recording sheet using those numbers.

If you would like to try this activity with your firsties, click {here} or the picture below to download.

Janet Shulman also has a few other holiday counting books--10 Easter Egg Hunters, 10 Trick-or-Treaters, 10 Valentine Friends, and 10 Trim-the-Tree'ers. You can buy any of the holiday counting books from Amazon by clicking on the pictures below:

I hope you enjoyed this week's Math Book Monday! Check back next week for a new book idea.

Saturday, 14 March 2015

Easter is coming up in a few weeks. I'm trying to avoid the stores because all those Cadbury Creme Eggs and Mini Eggs are just so very tempting... lol. I did pick up a few little bunnies for my neices and nephews though. Zoe's a little too young for the treats, so I got her this cute little puppy wearing bunny ears. It looks like my Molly and Zoe jut loves her Molly dog. :)

I whipped up a few simple labels to attach to the chocolate bunnies. Click the picture below to download them.

Wednesday, 4 March 2015

Are you familiar with the author Joy Cowley? She is the genius behind the delightful story of Mrs. Wishy-Washy and many others! I love her early reader sets because they are the perfect levels for first graders. The text is simple and the stories are very entertaining and humorous for young readers! These books are perfect for guided reading groups, read to self or partners, and home reading programs.

If you love Joy Cowley and her books, you will love the giveaway that Hameray Publishing is putting on. The lucky grand-prize winner will receive a classroom package of Joy’s stories, which include the newest adventures of cherished characters Mrs. Wishy-Washy, the Hungry Giant, the Meanies, and others. This year’s package includes ninety leveled readers, eighteen big books, and a set of finger puppets, with a prize total valuing at $1,000!

To enter the contest, head over the Hameray Publishing website and enter their rafflecopter! Click {here} or the picture below to head over there now. The contest runs from now until March 31, 2015. A winner will be chosen and announced on that day! (That's also my little Zoe's first birthday! Fun!)

Hameray Publishing is also hosting a little mini-contest here on my blog. One winner will receive a big book copy of Do-Whacky-Do, a fun story about ten silly clowns! To enter this contest, enter the rafflecopter below! This contest will end in two weeks, on the 18th! Good luck!

Tuesday, 3 March 2015

Oh me oh my. How is it March already. It feels like just yesterday I was finishing up report cards and getting ready to leave my classroom to have my baby. In fact, it's been 11 months since that happened! My baby is turning one at the end of this month. How did that happen?? Anywho, it's time for Currently! Go check out Farley's page and join up with your own Currently.

*listening* -- Zoe loves the Wiggles. If I need ten minutes to make her breakfast or have a shower, BOOM. Ready, Steady, Wiggle it is! She loves music. I love watching her bounce up and down and clap her hands. So cute!

*loving* -- I feel like spring is here. It's suppose to get warmer this weekend. Maybe the snow will start to melt away. Wouldn't that be exciting??

*thinking* -- I am definitely going to bed right after I post this.

*wanting* -- A snack. I did go for the cheerios. Dry. No milk. At least I don't have any stuck to my butt. (See my Instagram post here.)

*needing* -- I hate money. I know things will be fine. I just need to stop worrying about it.

*spring break plans* -- We're not going away anywhere this year. We had our trip to Phoenix in January. We've got Zoe's first birthday to plan (just kidding, I've been planning it for a year... lol) and a new house to start building. Well, someone else will be building it. I get to supervise and pick things out. Much more my style.

Now I will leave you with some pictures of my grown up little girl.

She loves walking around with her little Minnie Mouse car. She's already taken a few steps on her own. Walking is coming any day now.

I was so excited for her to learn how to clap. She does it all the time and it is so cute!!

Those bangs are getting long but there is NO WAY I am cutting her hair. lol. I started putting little Pebble Flintstones pony tails in the front. So cute!

We starting going to Gymboree Play & Learn classes and she loves it. She learned how to climb stairs there.

How can you tell I'm a teacher and stalk Kindergarten blogs? I love sensory bins. This was Zoe's first one. It was a fresh snow sensory bin. She loved it!

Don't forget to check back here on Wednesday! I will be having a mini contest on the blog with a fun prize from Hameray Publishing!

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